{"nrhp_refnum":"83000821","name":"Old Cambridge Historic District","other_names":["See Also: Stoughton, Mary Fisk, House"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Irregular pattern along Brattle St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cambridge","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.377097641000034,"lon":-71.13963782799993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-06-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 52-acre historic district in Cambridge, Massachusetts, covering properties on both sides of Mason Street, Brattle Street and Elmwood Avenue from Cambridge Common to Fresh Pond Parkway, with buildings dating from about 1750 to 1970.","why_significant":"The district follows the old Watertown Path, later nicknamed \"Tory Row\" for the mansions built there by Loyalists, and was used by the Continental Army during the Siege of Boston. It was home to many nationally known figures and contains work by major architects such as H. H. Richardson, Henry Van Brunt and McKim, Mead & White. The nomination also values the quality of the streetscape, with varied siting, fences, walls and trees.","narrative":"Old Cambridge is a 52-acre residential and institutional district in Cambridge, Massachusetts, centered on Brattle and Mason Streets and Elmwood Avenue. The route follows the Watertown Path, an ancient way that predates the founding of Newtowne in 1630. In the mid-eighteenth century, prominent Loyalists built mansions along it, giving the street the nickname \"Tory Row.\" During the Siege of Boston in 1775-1776 the houses served as hospitals and barracks, and General Washington was quartered at the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House. Later residents included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell and Elbridge Gerry. The Episcopal Theological School and Radcliffe College added major institutional buildings in the late nineteenth century. Houses by architects such as H. H. Richardson, Henry Van Brunt and McKim, Mead & White represent styles from Georgian to modern. The district was recognized for its historical associations, its architecture and the visual continuity of its landscaped streetscape, which includes Longfellow Park.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Multiple, including Ware & Van Brunt, H. H. Richardson, McKim, Mead & White, A. W. Longfellow Jr., Henry Greenough, Winslow & Bigelow, Lois Lilley Howe, Cram & Wentworth","architectural_style":"Mixed styles from all periods, including Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic, Italianate, Mansard, Queen Anne, Shingle Style and Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Condition is described as good to excellent; the area has mixed public, private and institutional ownership and mixed use.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.958759-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/20/7915/63791520/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000821.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000821/eb43ffa2fb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000821/eb43ffa2fb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"John Phelan, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._John%27s_Chapel,_Episcopal_Divinity_School,_West_Cambridge_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791520","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Cambridge_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7083578"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/old-cambridge-historic-district-83000821/"}